Tents, Trails & Turmoil

Title: Tents, Trails & Turmoil
Author: Tonya Kappes
Published: April 28, 2020, by Tonya Kappes Books
Format: Kindle, 216 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Series: Camper & Criminals #11

Blurb: Mae West knows tourism and nothing stops tourists like a dead body found in the Daniel Boone National Park.

Unfortunately, Yaley Woodard, a local tour guide, is found dead at Happy Trails Campground. Mae is determined to put her amateur sleuth skills to investigate along with the help of the Laundry Club gals. But when Yaley's past ends up being tied to forest trails and local Joel Grassel, Mae realizes Yaley's death has caused much more turmoil than she'd originally thought - and the killer might want to close the tourism in the Daniel Boone National Park for good.

My Opinion: Yes, I’m still working my way through this series. At this point, it’s practically a ritual: road trip ahead, disappointing book behind me, or I just need a little pick me up? I reach for Mae West and the Happy Trails crew without hesitation. They’re my reset button.

This time around, Mae, owner of the Happy Trails RV park tucked inside Daniel Boone National Park, has stumbled across yet another body. At this stage, Normal, Kentucky, is giving serious Cabot Cove energy. How a town this small racks up this many murders is both perplexing and wildly entertaining. But listen, I’m not complaining. I signed up for some cozy chaos, and Tonya Kappes delivers.

Mae may technically be an amateur sleuth, but after eleven books, she’s more seasoned than the actual investigators. And that’s becoming a bit of a problem for her relationship with the local detective. Still, Mae is Mae. Her friends come first, her instincts are sharp, and if her boyfriend can’t handle that, well, he might need to take a long walk and think about his life choices.

This installment throws a whole buffet of “could be” suspects at the reader, slowly eliminating them through Mae’s trademark mix of intuition, persistence, and being one step ahead of the official investigation. And when a body literally floats up from the bottom of a barrel? Well, that’s one way to narrow the list.

But the final reveal, the who of the who done it, wasn’t on my bingo card. Once again, Mae gets a little too close to danger, and once again, I found myself rooting for her to keep her head in the game and think of a way out.

What keeps me coming back, though, isn’t just the mystery. It’s the Laundry Club Ladies, the friendships, the sense of community that wraps around these books like a warm, handmade quilt. I’m in no rush to finish the series, and honestly, it feels like Tonya Kappes enjoys writing these stories just as much as I enjoy reading them.

Red Verdict

Title: Red Verdict
Author: James B. Comey
Published: May 12, 2026, by The Mysterious Press
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Genre: Thriller
Series: Nora Carleton #4

Blurb: Nora Carleton is hitting her stride as Deputy US Attorney for the Southern District of New York when a high-stakes counterintelligence case pulls her into a deadly game with global implications. A Russian-style hit on an executive at an American drone manufacturer sends a chilling message—but what exactly is it? Was the victim a Russian mole or just a convenient target?

Teaming up with her longtime friend, FBI Special Agent Benny Dugan, Nora launches a criminal investigation that takes them from New York to Las Vegas with the hopes of prosecuting the person responsible. But as they dig deeper into the tangled web of Russian intelligence and those who profit from its reach, Nora finds herself in the crosshairs of powerful forces determined to keep their secrets buried.

My Opinion: Somewhere between the acronyms, the spycraft, and the “I swear I’m not telling you anything classified” energy, James Comey seems to be flashing his past life like a badge he can’t quite tuck back into his pocket. The whole time I was reading, I kept getting the sense he wanted to ‘hint’ at something, just enough to make you wonder, without getting a reminder phone call from the feds. Maybe that’s just me, but this installment certainly felt different from the earlier books in the series.

Now, I adore Nora and her family. They’re the grounding force of the series. But Benny? Benny is why I keep returning. His dry humor, his loyalty, his no-nonsense approach to the world; he’s the one who carried this book for me. Every time he stepped onto the page, I perked up a little, hoping he’d inject some spark into the otherwise flat pacing.

And speaking of pacing with drones, Russians, espionage, poisonings, Comey really threw the whole espionage pantry at this one. On paper, it should have been a wild ride. In practice, though, the “thriller” part of this thriller never quite materialized. The story felt oddly linear, almost procedural, and the repetition kept dragging the momentum down. I kept waiting for a twist, a surprise, a sharp left turn. Instead, the plot just continued the same steady, predictable path. A few more offshoots or complications would’ve gone a long way toward keeping the duller stretches from feeling quite so dull.

In the end, it wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t the gripping, layered, tension-filled story I wanted from this series.

Anatomy of an Alibi

Title: Anatomy of an Alibi
Author: Ashley Elston
Published: January 13, 2026 by Pamela Dorman Books
Format: Hardcover, 340 Pages
Genre: Psychological Thriller

Blurb: Everyone at Chantilly’s Bar noticed out-of-towner Camille Bayliss. Red lips, designer heels, sipping a Negroni. But that woman wasn’t Camille Bayliss. It was Aubrey Price.

Camille Bayliss appears to have the picture-perfect life; she’s married to hotshot lawyer Ben and is the daughter of a wealthy Louisiana family. Only nothing is as it seems: Camille believes Ben has been hiding dirty secrets for years, but she can’t find proof because he tracks her every move.

Aubrey Price has been haunted by the terrible night that changed her life a decade ago, and she’s convinced Benjamin Bayliss knows something about it. Living in a house full of criminals, Aubrey understands there’s more than one way to get to the truth—and she may have found the best way in.

Aubrey and Camille hatch a plan. It sounds simple: For twelve hours, Aubrey will take Camille’s place. Camille will spy on Ben, and the two women will get the answers they desperately seek.

Except the next morning, Ben is found murdered. Both women need an airtight alibi, but only one of them has it. And one false step is all it takes for everything to come undone.

My Opinion: From the very first chapters of Anatomy of an Alibi, I fell into that rare reading zone where I’m completely locked in yet have absolutely no idea what’s actually happening. Ashley Elston has this unnerving level of control over her storytelling, where every scene feels crisp and clear in the moment, but the bigger picture keeps slipping through your fingers. It’s that confused, but in a way that feels intentional and kind of thrilling, sweet spot.

By the one third mark, the tension was already tightening. The lies were stacking. The ground was shifting. I kept thinking, Okay, now I’ve got it. Spoiler: I did not have it. This is the kind of psychological thriller that refuses to explain itself, and honestly, I didn’t want it to. Each chapter pulled me forward with that slightly unhinged “just one more” energy, even as I realized I was building a mental murder board that would need the string rearranged every few chapters.

Around the halfway point, I was convinced I finally understood where Elston was steering the story. I was very wrong. She is stingy with her clues; almost mischievously so. Just when you think you’ve cracked something, she tosses in a new character or a new angle, and suddenly you’re back at square one, staring at your imaginary red string like, Well, that was pointless.

There are a few slower stretches, but they feel less like lulls and more like the author giving you a tiny breather before the next narrative whiplash. You can sense she’s winding the spring tighter, letting you catch your breath before she yanks the rug again.

And then the ending; oh, the ending. Just when you think everything has finally been tied up, Elston looks you dead in the eye and says, “Not so fast.” There are still reveals waiting, still questions lingering, and you’re still not entirely sure she’s ready to let you go.

I loved this book. I had it all wrong. I had some of the people wrong. I had the final reveal wrong. And when an author can outmaneuver me that thoroughly, while keeping me entertained the entire time, they immediately earn a spot on my “watch for everything they write next” list.

The Diva Hosts a Murderer

Title: The Diva Hosts a Murderer
Author: Krista Davis
Published: May 26, 2026 by Kensington Cozies
Format: Kindle, 329 Pages
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Domestic Diva Mystery #19
Source: NetGalley and Kensington

Blurb: With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it’s a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly’s longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks.

But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie’s favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer—and evidence points to Sophie’s own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what’s the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he’s brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie’s discovering are raising flags—and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes

My Opinion: There are only a handful of cozy mystery series that still hit the spot for me these days, and Krista Davis’s Domestic Diva books remain one of them. A big part of that is the setting. Old Town Alexandria has this irresistible, lived in charm with brick sidewalks, historic houses, and the hum of neighborhood life. And every time I open a new Diva book, I’m right back there. Yes, I’ve been. Yes, I felt the pull. And yes, I absolutely indulge in a little personal nostalgia every time Sophie Winston starts another adventure.

This time around, though, you might want to keep a mental murder board handy. Davis throws a lot of names, connections, and neighborly entanglements at the reader, and there were moments when I had to pause and mentally reshuffle who was related to whom, who belonged to which barbecue, brunch, or suspicious circumstance where bodies inconveniently appeared where they shouldn’t.

The pacing, however, wobbles a bit. There are stretches that feel longer than they need to be, with some repetition that had my attention drifting. Then the final clue dropped, and suddenly everything snapped back into place. I had that little “oh, okay, that does make sense” moment, even if the fallout is going to make things awkward on the cobbled streets of Old Town for a while.

But the ending, specifically the bit with Bernie, left me blinking at the page. I was reading an ARC, so maybe it’ll shift in the final version, but as written, it felt tacked on, almost like it wandered in from another storyline entirely. I said out loud, “What the heck, Krista,” which is not my usual reaction to this series.

Still, spending a weekend with these characters, nineteen books in, no less, is its own kind of comfort. I’m not tired of them. Not even close. I just wish this installment had a little more momentum in the middle to keep me fully locked in. Even so, Old Town worked its magic, the mystery eventually clicked, and I enjoyed being back in Sophie’s world, quirks, potlucks, recipes, and all.